Thursday's big issue: Abortion rates

Why do you think Britain has more abortions than anywhere else in Europe?

New figures have shown that Britain has more abortions than anywhere else in Europe, prompting claims that the teenage pregnancy rate in the UK is pushing the number higher.

Teenage pregnancy rates in Britain have increased by almost a third over the past decade with half of all pregnancies among girls who are under 18 now ending in a termination. Britain now ranks fifth in the world for abortion rates, behind Russia, the US, India and Japan. The new figures, compiled by a Norwegian pro-life group, show that the government's policies on reducing the number of teen pregnancies aren't working, say anti-abortion groups.

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In March, the Advertising Standards Agency said it was considering allowing abortion clinics to advertise on television, after the government announced plans to try and cut the number of teens falling pregnant.

What do you think? Why does Britain have such a high abortion rate? What about the teen pregnancy rate? Why do you think Britain has such a high number of teens getting pregnant? What should the government be doing to reduce the number of teen pregnancies?

Do you think abortion clinics should be allowed to advertise on TV? Do you think this will help the teen pregnancy rate go down?

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